The purpose of a deductible is to serve as a barrier between you and your insurance company. If you're certain to have your deductible on hand at all times, you can pay for some things out of pocket, avoid filing a claim, and keep your insurance premiums low. Depending on your policy, keeping a high deductible-assuming you can keep the deductible in your pocket at all times-can lead to lower premiums and more money saved over the long haul.

The blog Squawkfox walks us through ten steps that can help everyone—even wealthy people—save money. Some of them are ones we've mentioned before, like making your own frappucinos instead of buying them at Starbucks, but this insurance tip stood out. For it to work, you would have to save enough on your policy to make keeping your deductible on-hand, and you would have to get the same quality of coverage with your high-deductible plan as you would with no deductible.

Frugal living blog Squawkfox's make-it-yourself Starbucks Frappuccino includes cost…
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Your mileage may vary, and you'll have to do the math to make sure keeping a deductible in your bank account at all times makes sense against how often you would actually use that insurance policy or how much you would save on your monthly premiums. However, if you would save $20/month on a plan that requires you to have a $200 deductible, by the end of the year, you would wind up spending less on insurance than it would cost you to set the $200 aside. Do you opt for deductible plans to save on your premiums every month, or do you prefer not to worry about what's in the bank when you need to call in your insurance? Share your thoughts in the comments. Photo by Andrew Steinmetz.